Women in the Financial Sector: A White House Forum on Economic Growth

This morning I spoke with around 100 women from across the
U.S. financial services industry at the White House. The forum included
business executives as well as stewards of institutional funds.

I’m an economist by training and I’ve studied the role that
women play in the workforce. When it comes to decision-making, in the
boardroom or anywhere else, the best decisions get made when there is more
diversity of perspectives and opinions at the table. So it was great to
hear from these leaders.

We talked about the U.S. economy and some of the challenges
we face, and I highlighted some of the things that President Obama is pushing
for to help strengthen our economy, build on our global competitiveness, and
create even more jobs.

Already, GDP has grown for 11 straight quarters and more
than 4.4 million private sector jobs have been created over the past 28 months. That’s good news, but clearly we must do more.

For example, we need to expand support for states and
localities to hire more teachers, police, and firefighters. We need to expand
infrastructure investment, and put unemployed construction workers back to
work. We need to reward firms that insource—bringing jobs back to America—and eliminate tax benefits for companies that outsource. And we need to extend
tax cuts for middle class families.

In addition, everyone agreed that Americans should be as
concerned, perhaps even more concerned, with long-term
investments that assure long-term American competitiveness. For example,
the president has called on Congress to support more research and development
as well as tech transfer in America’s top universities and labs along with investments that will help to increase the
skills of the U.S. workforce, provide greater access to higher education and
enhance our nation’s educational infrastructure.

Clearly, we have the tools at our disposal to create stable,
long-term growth. We should use them. Strong and steady economic
growth is necessary to build the economy we all want—an economy where everyone
gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share and everyone plays by the same
rules. That’s the vision for America that we all share.

After I finished speaking with this talented group of women,
Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Francisco Sánchez moderated
a panel focused on the opportunities and challenges in the global economy. The
panel boasted high-level participants, including: Lael Brainard, Under
Secretary for International Affairs, Department of the Treasury; Elizabeth Littlefield,
President and CEO, Overseas Private Investment Corporation; and Abby Joseph
Cohen, Managing Director, Senior Investment Strategist and President, Global
Markets Institute, Goldman Sachs. The discussion covered such wide-ranging
topics as the impact of Europe on the U.S. economy, opportunities in the Middle
East/North Africa region and the sectors and markets that are ripe for private
investment.

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